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Paramonova N, Trapina I, Gradauskiene (Sitkauskiene) B, Plavina S, Tamasauskiene L, Bastyte D, Rumba-Rozenfelde I, Tapina S, Stakaitiene I, Ugenskiene R, Shih-Hsin Wu L, Wang JY, Hsieh MH, Chen PC, Sjakste N. Genetic Diversity in Bronchial Asthma Susceptibility: Exploring the Role of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in Varied Geographic Contexts. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1943. [PMID: 38339221 PMCID: PMC10856277 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Bronchial asthma (BA) exhibits varying prevalence across global populations, prompting a comprehensive investigation into genetic and environmental determinants. Vitamin D is a potent immunomodulator capable of suppressing inflammatory signals in several cell types involved in the asthmatic response; it exerts effects on the immune system by binding to the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR). VDR gene genetic variations are affecting serum vitamin D levels with a possible role in the BA risk. The current study aimed to examine the complex interaction of various factors (genetic background, serum vitamin D levels, and geographic location) to identify differences in the influence of these factors on the susceptibility to asthma between populations at different latitudes. Focusing on Eastern European cohorts from Latvia and Lithuania and comparing them with published data on East Asian populations, we explore the impact of VDR gene polymorphisms on BA susceptibility. Genotyping four key VDR SNPs and assessing their association with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, our study unveils significant associations of the studied loci with the risk of asthma-both risk-reducing and increasing effects, differently distributed between Baltic and East Asian populations. The functional effects of in silico VDR gene genetic variations are also identified and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Paramonova
- Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Riga, Latvia; (N.P.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Ilva Trapina
- Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Riga, Latvia; (N.P.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | | | - Samanta Plavina
- Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Riga, Latvia; (N.P.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
| | - Laura Tamasauskiene
- Department of Immunology and Allergology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania (L.T.); (D.B.)
| | - Daina Bastyte
- Department of Immunology and Allergology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania (L.T.); (D.B.)
| | | | - Sandra Tapina
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia, LV-1586 Riga, Latvia; (I.R.-R.); (S.T.)
| | - Ieva Stakaitiene
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania; (I.S.); (R.U.)
| | - Rasa Ugenskiene
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-50161 Kaunas, Lithuania; (I.S.); (R.U.)
| | - Lawrence Shih-Hsin Wu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan;
- Research Center of Allergy, Immunology, and Microbiome (AIM), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404327, Taiwan; (J.-Y.W.); (M.-H.H.); (P.-C.C.)
| | - Jiu-Yao Wang
- Research Center of Allergy, Immunology, and Microbiome (AIM), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404327, Taiwan; (J.-Y.W.); (M.-H.H.); (P.-C.C.)
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, China Medical University Children’s Hospital, Taichung 404327, Taiwan
| | - Miao-Hsi Hsieh
- Research Center of Allergy, Immunology, and Microbiome (AIM), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404327, Taiwan; (J.-Y.W.); (M.-H.H.); (P.-C.C.)
| | - Pei-Chi Chen
- Research Center of Allergy, Immunology, and Microbiome (AIM), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404327, Taiwan; (J.-Y.W.); (M.-H.H.); (P.-C.C.)
| | - Nikolajs Sjakste
- Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, LV-1004 Riga, Latvia; (N.P.); (S.P.); (N.S.)
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